Maybe the youth vote actually turned up this time. It is still very early though, and there's a distinct possibility of this turning into Conservative gains when the night is through. Fascinating though.

Brexit, whilst important, is not the only thing that the British government and Parliament have to do with their time. The loss of a Tory majority most emphatically means something even if Britain still leaves the EU.

The truly horrifying thought here, though, is the prospect that there will still be a Tory government, but one reliant for its survival on the DUP. Not sure how familiar they are across the pond, but you will have come across the DUP on this forum. Faith posted a couple of rants about the Pope being the antichrist from Ian Paisley, the violent, hateful bigot who founded the party. Not a thought to relish.

God only knows what was on our minds. My own take on it is the the youth vote absented itself at the Brexit vote, noticed that they'd got something they didn't want and turned out in force at the election to attempt to reverse it or at least get something they approve of.

And it seems that it will be a Conservative/Democratic Union Party government.I really doubt that was what the people of the UK had in mind.

That does appear likely with the outcome of the election. I don't know much about the party, but it appears they are from the same camp as UKIP. Euro-skeptics and also reminiscent of the Tea Party on this side of the Atlantic.

I haven't been privy to the machinations of this election, but I have to admit I am quite surprised by the outcome. I honestly don't know why there was such a backlash against May and the Conservatives when polls showed them with a commanding lead just six weeks ago. Many pundits said she ran a terrible campaign (Hillary 2.0?) but I would have thought things like the recent attacks in England would have actually galvanized her position.

God only knows what was on our minds. My own take on it is the the youth vote absented itself at the Brexit vote, noticed that they'd got something they didn't want and turned out in force at the election to attempt to reverse it or at least get something they approve of.

Theres nothing much mysterious going on. UKIP stood down in a lot of the country; and lost votes where they did since a lot of people feel that battle is now won. There is no need to vote for a single issue party any more. However, those votes did not all flow too the Tories - it's worth remembering that a lot of the strongest Leave votes were in staunchly Labour areas; and much of this support went back to Labour - especially now it's a Labour with a left-wing platform that people see as a genuine alternative.

Labour has energised a lot of support amongst young people, but also amongst the traditional left. You can see this clearly in unshakeable Labour strongholds like Merseyside. The Tories would sometimes come third, fourth or even fifth in the Liverpool constituencies, but this time finished second in all of them. This is not just because they increased their vote share (although they did), but because the vote share of the smaller parties plummeted. A lot of left-leaning voters who used to vote Green, Liberal or for minor socialist parties, since they felt the major parties had little to offer, have flocked back to Labour now they are presenting themselves as a genuine leftwing alternative.

In both number of votes and number of seats, this was the second most successful election in the history of the SNP. It only looks like a slaughter because you're comparing it to 2015 - the most successful ever election for the SNP.

I think part of the swing against them comes from people who look on independence for Scotland differently post-Brexit. If Scotland became an independent state but both Scotland and the rest of the UK were EU members; then Scottish and British citizens would be guaranteed the right to move freely across the border and live and work on either side without restrictions. There is no guarantee that would be the case if the UK leaves the EU.

I am curious what effect this will now have on Brexit negotiations. The whole premise behind this snap election was that May would have an even larger majority at her back when entering negotiations. Now, she faces the prospect of struggling to form a coalition and having a diminished bargaining position.

The tentative date for Brexit negotiations to start is June 19th. Only ten days away. She will have to scramble to get that coalition formed. But even so, the EU negotiators are probably now seeing blood in the water and the hand tipped in their favor.

quote:London and Brussels failed to clinch a long-sought breakthrough on Brexit after a series of dramatic twists that saw a tentative deal derailed by the delicate question of the Irish border.

ďIt was not possible to reach a complete agreement today,Ē European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters as glum negotiators looked on. Talks will resume this week and heís confident there will be a agreement that paves the way for trade talks to begin.

Itís more the DUP than the Irish government. Itís pretty obvious that trying to make the Irish border into a ďhardĒ border is a bad idea, even if the Irish would accept it. But that means that either Britain remains in the Customs Union or puts the border into the Irish Sea, leaving NI in the Customs Union. The Brexiteers wonít accept the first, the DUP wonít accept the second, and the Irish will veto the deal if a hard border isnít ruled out.

Theresa May must really be regretting calling the last General Election.

Brexit was always a mess. The Irish border was always a problem. Itís just become really obvious now, and the DUP are ruling out what seems to be the only workable solution.